April 23 Summit to Focus on Criminal Justice Reform

NOTE TO MEDIA: Photographs of our panelists can be provided. Interviews may be arranged with panelists/speaker prior to the event. There will also be a media availability at the summit.

San Francisco, CA—A former law student who served nearly 17 years in prison for a murder she did not commit will provide the keynote address for the San Francisco Public Defender’s Justice Summit on Wednesday, April 23, a free public event that explores today’s most compelling criminal justice issues.

The San Francisco Public Defender’s Justice Summit: THE JURY IS OUT will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Koret Auditorium in Main Library. The event is free and includes lunch, but space is limited and registration is required. Register at sfpublicdefender.org.

Keynote speaker Gloria Killian, who was unjustly convicted of masterminding the 1981 robbery and murder of an elderly man, was exonerated in 2002 with the help of astronaut Sally Ride’s mother. Today, Killian is an attorney, author of Full Circle: A True Story of Murder, Lies and Vindication, and director of the Action Committee for Women in Prison, an organization that works to improve conditions of female prisoners.

Killian’s speech will be followed by a day of lively panel discussions on the science and controversy behind recovered memories, children of incarcerated parents, and the death of the jury trial. Panelists include experts in law, neuroscience and child welfare, as well as families affected by incarceration.

The annual San Francisco Justice Summit is the premier criminal justice conference on the West Coast. This year, panelists will debate growing dilemmas in criminal justice: Reconciling the latest scientific research on memory with justice for crime victims and fairness for the accused; Caring for the nearly 3 million children with an incarcerated parent; and preserving our constitutional rights in a system where the vast majority of defendants are encouraged to plead guilty.

“We are reaching a tipping point on what Americans are willing to tolerate from the criminal justice system, particularly when it comes to wrongful conviction or families separated through needless incarceration,” San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi said. “The Justice Summit will focus on reform and solutions.”

The San Francisco Public Defender’s Justice Summit: THE JURY IS OUT is co-sponsored by the Bar Association of San Francisco. Attendance earns 4.25 MCLE units for attorneys.